It Is As Simple And As Complicated As That
by MyDearGoddessofthemoonandsun
Summary: Adrien deals with the aftermath of rejecting Marinette's confession. This is the Sequel to "Hope Is The Thing With Wings" but it's not necessary to read it to understand what's going on. The Sequel to this fic is "The Chosen Child".
1. Chapter 1

"I want to be with you, it is as simple, and as complicated as that."

— Charles Bukowski

* * *

He had never wanted to hurt her, never wanted to be the reason for the tears in her eyes or the sobs coming from her mouth. Green eyes closed in pain as he remembered her dash from the park. How her voice had wavered as he took her heart in his hands and crushed it to little pieces in front of her. How she hadn't blamed him or hated him but smiled at his words and tried to make **him** feel better. As if **he** was the one who was suffering the most. If that whole experience hadn't been bad enough, his lady had been acting a little off recently too.

Five weeks had passed since that fateful day. A whole month without really seeing or talking to her. Of catching glimpses as she ran to her classes or walked with Alya to the mall. Thirty-five days of seeing her post new designs and finished outfits on her blog; all of them more mature and elegant than her previous work. More refined and delicate.

Marinette never failed to impress him with her tendency to bounce back from whatever was troubling her. Here he was moping about in his room and letting his sadness over the state of their friendship fester and there she was taking her pain and making something out of it. Something amazing and beautiful.

Sighing loudly, Adrien rolled face down on his bed and buried his head deeper into his pillow, determined to not think about Marinette, love confessions or anything. A few minutes passed in blissful silence before the smell of cheese softly drifted into his room, slowly becoming stronger and stronger. A black streak of fur flew through his door before plopping hard onto his bed.

"AAADDRRIENN! The most horrible thing just happened!" Adrien could practically hear his kwami flail about as he got more upset about something.

"Go away Plagg, please... I'm not in the mood".

"But Adrien! It's just horrible! The absolute **worst** thing has happened since the plumbing broke the **first week** we moved to this place!"

"Plagg... I'm sure it isn't that bad. You're just being a...a **drama** **cat** ".

"I am **not** being a drama cat, **you're** the drama cat! That's not the point though, this is a **serious** emergency! Adrien are you listening to me?! **We've run out of cheese**!"

"..."

Sighing loudly, Adrien mentally rolled his eyes before smothering his face further into his pillow. Maybe if he ignored Plagg long enough his friend would go away and freak out about cheese later or something. He really wasn't in the mood to cater to Plaggs' freak outs over cheese and the glory that is that gooey substance perfected by masters. The one true gift humankind had to offer to kwami's, though Adrien doubted Ladybug's kwami was as much as a nuisance as his was.

Ladybug. The woman he loved so much he broke one of his best friend's heart. The woman who had been acting strangely in the last couple of patrols. Did she know he rejected another woman for her? Damn. And he had been doing so well not thinking about it.

A pensive silence filled the room before soft paws landed on his head and began poking and probing the young man to look up from the pillow.

"Hey! Are you still upset over rejecting that sweet smelling girl? Cause it's been, like, a month since that happened and you've been in a really lousy mood since then. A real space cadet too! Last week you mixed up the Camembert order for Mozzarella. Mozzarella cheese Adrien! Who does that?!"

Feline eyes peered suspiciously at annoyed green ones.

"I thought you were only in love with Ladybug, yet here you are acting like your mate just dumped you for a two-bit pampered pedigree cat with no real claws and expensive catnip squeaky toys."

"Two-bit wha...? No! Of course I am in love with Ladybug! But that doesn't mean I can't be upset with rejecting Marinette!"

"Why? Aren't you humans always going on about 'honesty being the best policy' and all that tripe? To not lead on ladies and only have one mate and stuff?"

"Yes it is but... Ugh!"

Frustrated with trying to explain himself to his occasionally insensitive friend, Adrien flopped his face back onto the pillow before mumbling lowly, "You wouldn't understand Plagg, it's more complicated than that."

"And what is **that** supposed to mean? **I'm** not the one having a breakdown over rejecting a pretty girl for another girl, that wears a tight body suit and has never shown you their face!"

Feeling all of his pent up annoyance and confusion at the whole situation boil over, Adrien quickly yanked himself off his bed and began to pace in front of his bemused kwami, making sure to use hand gestured to get his point across.

"She's one of the few people I feel comfortable hanging out with. She makes me laugh at her antics and has always tried to cheer me up, even if that caused trouble for herself. She's really kind and sweet but she can also take charge and be a good leader. She's talented and amazing and so determined to become a fashion designer that it's inspiring to watch her tackle any issue her courses and competitions have hurled at her."

Losing steam Adrien flopped to sit on his beanie bag chair and buried his face into his hands. A still silence filled the room, prompting Adrien to peek through his fingers at a surprisingly quiet Plagg, before a flash of soft green caught his eyes. Marinette's gift lay folded at the foot of his bed, each stitch a reminder of their last meeting on that beautiful sunny day. As the familiar feel of sadness settled onto his shoulders and chest, Adrien turned back to look at the pensive kwami.

"I hurt her Plagg. And not a small hurt like some of the other girls who have confessed to me, but a **big** one. A **strong** one. For one small moment I looked into her eyes and saw something shatter and break as I told her I didn't- **couldn't** love her like she loved me. This amazing, strong, ridiculously kind girl gave me her heart Plagg, and what did I do? I turned it down and broke it in the process."

He might have been speaking softly, but the self loathing and disgust was still audible to the kwami.

"I was such a **coward** that I couldn't even tell her that I am so **obsessed** with another woman, a woman who sometimes feels way beyond my league, that if I did date Marinette I wouldn't be able to treat her right and probably end up silently comparing her to Ladybug. She'd end up hating me for sure."

His gaze dropped back to his hands as he pictured the last time he had hung out with Marinette, Nino and Alya. How they had beat Nino at videogames and done mock interviews with Alya as they pretended to be snobby members of their classes. She had smiled so beautifully at him when he complimented her on her latest win in his dad's fashion design competition. He should have seen this coming. Had he really been so blind to her feelings all this time? He was such an idiot.

"She deserves better than me...she deserves a person who could give her their whole heart...I want her happy again. I want to see her smile at me with real joy in her eyes and not the faint shadow of a smile she has been giving me lately. I want to hang out with her again and play videogames together and laugh at the ridiculous things our classmates do to get the attention of my father. I want my best friend back Plagg."

Getting up from the beanie bag chair, he slowly walked towards the bed and grabbed the soft green sweeter. Caressing the fabric between his fingers, he smiled softly before slipping it on and making his way towards the door. Pausing in the hall way, he glanced back to his silent partner who was still watching him, as he slowly made his way into the hallway and glided towards his shoulder.

"I love her Plagg, just not in the way she wants me too. So if she needs space and time to get over me, then the very least I can do is give her that much. No matter how much I want to run over and hang out with her like we used to, I need to respect that she might not want that right now. Her feelings and wants are what's important here. Not mine."

Sad green eyes glanced at the smiling photos of himself and Marinette playing at the beach from last years road trip hanging on the walls.

"We **can't** go back to how we were before, and I **hate** that. A part of me wishes she had never confessed to me, that we could still be the same as we were a month ago...and yet she wouldn't be the girl I admire so much if she hadn't been true to herself and confessed to me. It's complicated Plagg, and sometimes I really envy you for not having to deal with this."

Feline eyes stared into sad, frustrated eyes, before letting out a little snort.

"Humans. You're always making things harder for yourselves."

Opening his jacket with a rueful smile, his kwami made himself at home in his inside pocket. Taking one last glance at bittersweet memories decorating his walls, he turned away and left his apartment, the sound of a closing door echoing in the space behind.

* * *

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Chat Noir let loose a loud whoop as he narrowly missed the landing on the ledge of an empty apartment. That had been his furthest jump yet!

Bright eyes turned towards the moon as a soft warm breeze ruffled his hair. Breathing in deeply the smell of wet grass and fresh earth, Chat smiled broadly at the sight before him. A beautiful small field with flowers swaying in the breeze and fireflies dancing about their petals under the moonlight. Perfect.

Throwing his arms above his head, Chat Noir threw himself onto his back and rolled into the grass around him. It had been so long since he had done this. Let loose and act like a kid, with no worries or cares in the world. Staring happily at the stars above, Chat began to hum a small tune before breaking out into horribly bad singing. Nonsensical words just seemed to burst out and fill the air around him, a mixture of French and English lyrics of different songs put together.

He had really needed this. A night off from everything; no Akuma attacks, no scheduled patrol tonight, no late photo-shoot in Italy or wherever, no Marinette or Ladybug, no love confessions or strange behaviour and no other people around for miles. Perfect.

Reaching into his pocket, Chat Noir pulled out his Ipod, a small notebook and a pen. Now that he was alone he finally had the time to write down that story idea that had been bugging him lately.

Eyes softening Chat thought back to the original muse and inspiration of his writings. His mother had done far more than just shower him with love and be his father's favourite model; she had also taught him how to write out stories. Closing his eyes, a soft smile spread on his face as he remembered sitting with his mom and brainstorming ideas for a new story. They would work on the plot and characters for hours before starting the first draft. When his final draft had been read and edited by her for the last time, they would go to the crafts store and pick out the perfect cover and writing paper to use to print and bind his story. She made the illustrations with her paintings and other artworks, which always seemed to add the perfect final touch to the whole thing. He always felt so accomplished after their book was done, and as a reward for their hard work, his mom would sneak them down to the kitchen and bake a small cake or muffin or parfait. Something small and sweet to treat themselves with.

A lone tear fell from his eye as he remembered his father's rage at seeing those stories after her disappearance. He threw them all into a box and locked them away in the family safe. Too precious to burn and throw away but too painful to leave lying around the house. Now that he had his own apartment he could start writing again, in memory of her love for his imagination.

Rolling onto his stomach, he turned on his Ipod and began letting the music direct the mood of his writing. The fast beat of the song made him want to jump and run as fast as he could, so something light hearted, with action and adventure! Opening his notebook, Chat began to write;

 _'The wind rushed through the trees as it played among the grass in a field filled with flowers. Golden hair and green bright eyes peered at the scene...'_

* * *

He couldn't believe he was late! Nino was going to kill him if he accidentally had them disqualified in the video game tag team competition for not showing up on time to their game. Sliding into the room, Adrien nearly tripped as he jumped into his seat and picked up his controller.

"Phew! Made it!"

Looking around the room Adrien spotted Alya talking to the official of the match before walking over to his spot with a sheepish smile on her face and an embarrassed glint in her eye.

"Hey Adrien! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Nino woke up sick and won't be able to make it to the game today."

"Is he okay?"

Adrien made a move to get up but Alya quickly stopped him from leaving his station.

"Oh, yeah! He'll be right as rain after a goodnight's sleep, lots of fluids and lots of rest."

"Does this mean we're disqualified for the tag team competition?"

He noticed her wince subtly before darting to look over his shoulder and then back to his face.

"Well...not exactly. See, Nino was a little worried that he might accidentally make himself sick with all the stress he's been under in his music program lately and decided to have a reserve player take his spot if anything should happen."

A feeling of absolute dread clutched his heart before rising to choke the words from coming out of his throat. Clearing his throat, Adrien gave a nervous smile while trying to keep his voice steady.

"Oh? Is Max the back up player?"

Shifting her eyes once more over his shoulder, she gave him an awkward smile.

"Not exactly..."

Soft footsteps crept closer to his chair, each step sounding like the loud 'thud-thump' of his heart beat. He vaguely noted Alya saying something before making her way to the audience section. The chair next to him shifted to the side as the smell of cookies and fresh bread filled his senses.

Gulping quietly, Adrien took a moment to get his composure before turning to face the one person who he had both longed and dreaded to see. What do you say to your best friend after you reject their love confession?

A loud announcement from the head of the tournament broke Adrien from his musings on the girl beside him.

"Players have five minutes till the start of the game."

Five minutes of silence crawled by in a painfully slow manner. This awkward tension between them suffocated the space around them and had a couple of other players nearby glance confusedly at them. Adrien fidgeted and tried multiple times to turn around and greet the blue eyed girl next to him, but it seemed that every time he tried to open his mouth the words would die and his gaze would drop back to his controller.

 **Awkward.**

"Players ready? Game **START**!"

Now typically this was the moment where he'd forget all about who was sitting next to him and just concentrate on his partners' avatars movements and balance out their fighting style. Instead the suffocating self-consciousness seemed to become more glaring and obvious the longer they played.

He messed up; she misread his movements. He grabbed the wrong equipment and lost her a couple of times, leaving himself vulnerable to other team attacks. She ran off ahead of him and seemed to forget at times that she had a partner to help her through the challenges.

In short they were sucking very badly and their entire teamwork was shot to hell. Just great.

* * *

"This concludes the game for this set. All qualified team players are required to mark down their final score and return after the lunch break."

Passing by the skin of their teeth, they managed to just qualify for the next round. This awkwardness was ridiculous. God damn it Agreste! Chat Noir up and talk to her!

"Um, hey Marinette."

Green eyes met blue ones, trying desperately to spot if he had somehow overstepped himself and upset her by his less than eloquent greeting.

To his surprise their was no pain in her gaze. Instead all he could find was a healing sadness, love, kindness and a resolve that seemed to grow stronger the more he stared at her.

"Hey Adrien."

A sense of awe and wonder filled him as she slowly smiled at him in greeting. Her ability to bounce back never failed to amaze him.

A few more seconds passed with them smiling at each other, before both Adrien and Marinette burst into giggles. This was just so awkward they had to laugh, he'd probably cry if he didn't laugh at this situation.

"Sooo, we kinda got our butt kicked huh?"

"More like, humiliatingly destroyed by the opposition."

A slight self-deprecating smirk graced her lips before she turned away from him to take out her lunch.

"I'm sorry Adrien. I wasn't much of a partner for you in the first round."

Reaching out to touch her shoulder, he stopped himself before he could place his hand on her. She might not like him touching her now that he...that he had made clear that couldn't feel that way for her.

"...it's fine. I wasn't the best partner either."

A delicious smell of fresh croissants, tomatoes, lettuce and chicken distracted Adrien from the rest of his thoughts. His mouth began to water as he watched Marinette take a bite out of a delicious looking croissant sandwich. He had forgotten to buy himself a lunch and breakfast had been nothing but a black cup of coffee. A loud grumble pierced the quiet atmosphere, causing Adrien to turn a bright colour of red and Marinette to burst into giggles.

At least she was smiling again.

Getting a plastic knife out, Marinette cut her sandwich in half before offering him a piece with a slight smirk on her face.

"Here. Can't have my partner collapsing from hunger in the next round."

Reaching out to take the food from here, Adrien gave her a bright smile. Maybe they could never be what they were before, but at least their friendship wasn't completely ruined. She'd move on from him and he'd move on from rejecting her and hopefully one day she would find someone who could love and respect her the way she deserved.

As they got ready to start the next round of the competition, Adrien barely noticed that a sharp pang had run through his heart at the thought of Marinette with someone else.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's as simple as that. Simple and complicated, as most true things are."

― David Levithan

* * *

Green eyes took in the view of the city from the Eiffel Tower; from the low rumble of cars and murmurs to the bright lights of apartments, restaurants and traffic lights. Taking a deep breath, Chat Noir inhaled the cool night breeze, feeling very content and pleased with his life.

Things were finally looking up! Ever since that video game tournament, which they managed to steal a win from at the last round, Marinette had begun to talk to him again. Things weren't perfect between them yet; he still felt like such a horrible person for hurting her, which made him act guiltily kind around her, and she seemed to have moments where she didn't seem to want to be around him at all or would rather a Akuma attack occur than be in the same room with him. Yet for all their troubles, the awkward silences were becoming smaller, the pained looks between them were becoming less frequent and the familiar ease they used to have with each other was slowly coming back.

Making himself comfortable, he glanced at the moon and figured he had about 30 minutes before Ladybug would arrive. Pulling out a small notepad and pen from his pouch he finally began to write a scene that had popped into his head during class.

 _'No matter how hopeless it felt at times, the golden haired boy had to see her again. True he knew nothing about her, but who in truth could say they knew anything substantial about the people from the mist? Such a mysterious people with magic in their veins, they were known as good Samaritans and quiet heroes to the people of the valley. His people. Running through the trees he strained his body to go even faster; the moon was setting and he only had a small window of time to be with her. The mysterious girl with sky blue eyes and a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. He had to see her again, even if it was for a single moment. The love of his life and the only woman who had ever gotten a glimpse of his true self. His-'_

"Hey Chat!"

Jerking from his position, Chat Noir quickly shoved his notepad and pen into his pocket before turning around to greet his ever punctual partner.

"Hey there yourself Bug-a-boo. Miss me?"

An exasperated sound fell from her lips, while blue eyes took note of his pouch and ink marks on his gloves. Never could get anything past her.

"Moonlight writing again?"

Sheepishly smiling, Chat raked his hands through his already windswept hair.

"What can I say? I'm a poet and I didn't even know it! This cat was **feline** like writing while his Lady took her sweet time in arriving."

"Are you saying I was **late** Chat Noir?"

"That depends. Which response will give me cuddles?"

Soft chuckles filled his ears as green eyes flickered over Ladybug's body, taking note of relaxing shoulders and the softening of the edges of her smile. Good. His Lady had been in an odd mood recently, and with all that had been happening with Marinette...well, their was no doubt in his mind that he had somehow failed her. Making her laugh and relax was the least he could do for such neglect.

"In all seriousness though, when am I ever going to be allowed to read your story?"

" **Purr** -haps when I actually find myself finishing it. It's got to be the cat's meow if you're going to read it, My Lady."

"American 1920's slang? Really?"

He felt his heart beat a little faster as she raised an eyebrow at him. He loved provoking her with his antics, she always makes the cutest faces and noises.

"We **may** be covering literature of the 'Roaring 20s' in class right now and I **just** **might** be feeling myself influenced by all the new material."

"Heaven help me."

Laughing at each other's antics, they sat down on the ledge of the platform as a comfortable silence filled the space between them.

"Soooo. Now that I've revealed **my deep dark secrets** , wanna tell me what's been **bug** -ging you lately L.B.?"

A determined stare met a deadpan one.

"Chat."

"Ladybug."

It was funny that his Lady thought she could out stare him. Cats always win at staring contests.

" **Ugh**! Fine! You win."

Snickering at her annoyed look, he leaned away from the slow swat aimed for his arm.

"I guess you do deserve to finally hear what's been going on. You were surprisingly less pushy than I thought you would be these last few months. I guess I should count myself thankful you didn't try and pry it out of me earlier."

"I may like to tease and mess around but that doesn't mean I don't get it when you need space Mi'Lady."

"And that's why you're one of my best friends Chat Noir."

Letting loose a loud sigh, Ladybug leaned onto his shoulder and just about melted into his side. Her body heat seeped into his, and he mentally swore that he could hear her heartbeat.

' **Calm down** Adrien. You can **do** this. **No** puns or wandering hands. Your partner needs your **comfort** right now, not a **hormonal** young adult.'

"I kinda got rejected by one of my other best friends. I've been in love with him for years and I had finally gotten the courage to confess to him. Obviously it didn't end well for me."

A memory of Marinette confessing to him flashed before his eyes. Bitterly Chat wondered if all men were **stupid** like him and hurt good women with hearts of gold.

"He's an idiot."

Rolling her eyes at him she ducked her face into his shoulder.

"I knew you'd say that."

"Well he is! You are amazing and beautiful, he should be **grateful** for your attention."

"Chat, it isn't like he was rejecting **Ladybug**. He rejected **me**. The **civilian** me. The real **me**."

There was pain in her voice. Pain and unshed tears over a stupid **stupid** boy who **smashed** her heart into **little pieces**. Broke her confidence and made her think she wasn't **good enough**...just like how **he** did to Mari- " **Bullshit**."

"Chat!" Jerking away from his shoulder Ladybug stared at him in admonishment.

"No! Listen to me! This ' **real you** ' thing is just **bullshit**." Grabbing her shoulders he gently shook her and stared deeply into her eyes. He had hurt Marinette and had not been able to help her afterwards. There was no way he would fail his partner.

"I know you **aren't** pretending to care about **me** or the **civilians** so that's real. I know you **honestly feel confident** when we're tackling akuma, cause **trust** **me** , I **know** fake confidence and you don't have that. I know you take seriously your role as **protector of Paris**. All of these aspects of you are **real**. So maybe you aren't **as** confident in your civilian form or you are more of a slacker or-or-or, I don't know! **Whatever**! It doesn't make the person you are as **Ladybug** not **real**."

Softening his gaze, Chat Noir moved a stray hair away from her face before gently cupping her cheek and gently stroking it.

"So you have **different sides** to yourself and that means you're **a little different** as a civilian. **So what?** Ladybug is a side of you, and one I am proud to know and lo- **care** about. I'm sure that the you as a civilian is **just as amazing**. Different maybe, but **no less amazing**."

Clearing his throat, he slowly moved his hand away from her face, nervously wondering if he had gone too far by touching and stroking her cheek.

Black and red spotted gloves grabbed his hand as grateful and soft blue eyes stared up at him. Giving him a soft smile, Ladybug leaned over and gave him a soft peck on the cheek.

"Thank you Chat. I needed to hear that."

Clearing his suddenly too dry throat, Chat took a quick calming breath before returning her smile with his own.

"Anytime My Lady."

* * *

"Excellent Adrien! Now turn your head slightly to the side and give me your best pouty face! Someone has just taken your bowl of spaghetti and there is none left!"

Artificial wind blew through his clipped back hair and ruffled the ends of his off the shoulder black top. Making sure to look as pouty as possible, Adrien caught a glimpse of a tall white suit and platinum blonde hair.

"Excellent! And we are done for today! Good work everyone!"

Walking into the room like he owned it, Gabriel Agreste looked every inch the fashion leader he was in his white suit and lavender tie.

"Father, what are you doing here?"

Sending his assistant a sharp glance, Gabriel Agreste sternly replied, "Did Nathalie not remind you today? The Agreste Company's 50th Anniversary is this weekend."

Cold blue eyes looked Adrien up and down before taking out a white envelope from his pocket.

"You are, of course, expected to be there with a **respectable** and **suitable** date. This season's designer did a good job on accenting your body so I will make sure Nathalie has them make you a suit. She will also send a notice to your university that you will be unable to be there this upcoming week due to a photoshoot I need you to do in England, so make sure to begin packing immediately."

"But Father!"

"No buts. You still have a contract as a model to this company and that means that you have obligations and responsibilities to uphold. Now, before I forget..."

Taking out a photo from the envelope, Adrien watched as his father placed a photo of Adrien wearing Marinette's last gift for him. The soft green sweater she had given him on **that** day.

"Where did you get this sweater and who made it for you?"

"...How do you know it was made for me? I could have bought it myself."

Narrowed eyes stared Adrien down before giving a small snort in disbelief.

"This sweater was tailored to best accent **your** body, the stitches are handmade and there are tiny imperfections done only be an experienced designer. Now who is it? You personally know this designer don't you?"

"It was a gift from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's won a couple of your competitions in both Middle School and High School. She's one of my closest friends."

Giving a sharp nod, Gabriel gestured Nathalie over.

"Nathalie make sure to send a talent scout to Ms. Dupain-Cheng's University. She would make a fine addition as an intern for the company; the girl has some measurable skill."

Adrien felt a sense of detachment as he watched his father leave the room after giving some more orders to the photographer. After so many years of watching that man leave him behind, you would think he'd be used to it by now.

* * *

Adrien sighed happily as he leaned against the tree outside of the Agreste building. The sun was shining and the breeze was just perfect. A good day to go for a walk and get some inspiration going for the next scene in his story.

"ADRIENNNNN!"

He managed to glimpse a flash of yellow before suddenly almost being thrown to the ground by the force of Chloe's tackle hug. Letting out a soft frustrated sigh, Adrien pried her hands off his neck before gently pushing her away from him.

"Chloe, it's nice to see you and all, but could you please stop tackle hugging me? I've told you before that I'm not comfortable with it."

"But Adrien! It's been two years since I last saw you! Two years!"

A startled laugh came out as he suddenly was being hit by her attempts to use her blue watery eyes and pouting lips to get her way.

"Chloe...you know that look hasn't worked on me since we were sixteen years old right?"

She lost the pouty look at that statement and instead grew more serious and sly.

"I know, I know. **Such** a shame too. I used to be able to get **anything** I wanted from you by using that look."

" **Almost** anything."

"Fine! **Almost** anything."

A heartbeat later, soft laughter spilled out of both them as they gave each other a proper hello. She still wasn't the kindest woman around but Adrien was still happy to see his old friend again. Chloe had confessed to him in private on her eighteenth birthday, and much like with Marinette, he had turned her down flat. It wouldn't be until a year later, after she had dated various popular boys and celebrities to try and make him jealous, for her to understand that he honestly didn't like her that way. It would take another six months before they finally became friends.

"So how goes your pathetically one-sided love with Paris' favourite superhero?"

Choking on his spit, Adrien tried to stop coughing as Chloe gave him a look of pure satisfaction at his reaction. Just because they were friends now that didn't mean it stopped her from messing around with him.

"Going that well huh?"

Walking over to the closest bench, Chloe gave him a smirk as she crossed her legs and began to file her nails.

"You don't have to call it pathetic."

Scowling at her growing smirk, Adrien sat down next to her.

"Adrien, you haven't had a proper talk with her in years, you are always her damsel in distress and you pin away in your room hoping for the day your prince will come without making any effort to nab her yourself."

"...Shouldn't it be 'princess' instead of 'prince'?"

A deadpan stare met his bemused one.

"No. I meant what I said and said what I meant. Prince."

Adjusting her legs, Chloe put away her nail filer and pointed a perfectly shaped nail in his face.

" **You** need to stop being a wimp and go up to her and ask her out! Make it sound like a 'thank you' dinner for saving your life for the millionth time, if you want to start casual. Not anything too romantic of course. Chat Noir always tries that and like a total **dork** , fails to learn from his mistakes and tone it down a notch."

"D-dork?"

"What are you, a broken record? Yes, Chat Noir is a complete and utter dork!"

Feeling himself grow a little embarrassed at that admission, Adrien watched as Chloe began tapping her lip in thought.

"Which is a total shame, cause at first glance he gives off this whole **sinful** look with all that leather and that **tight** body. Too bad he opens his mouth and ruins the whole image. Got great taste in women though, I will give him that."

"C-Chloe!"

"What? At least you know you have no competition in **that** corner. But before we go back to your **ineptitude** in getting anywhere with the 'woman you love' lets quickly discuss **one more thing** shall we?"

Sweat dripped from the side of his face as Adrien leaned slightly back from a pair of very intense blue eyes.

" **Why** did you reject Marinette?"

Flabbergasted at the remark, Adrien sputtered as she took out her cellphone and showed him the scene at the park on **that** day.

"H-how did you get that?"

Glancing slyly to the side, Chloe gave him a little smirk as she leaned back into the bench.

"A woman has her ways. Now stop avoiding the question because you are absolutely terrible at misdirection. Painfully so."

"But! But you were **always** insulting and bullying her back in school. I-I thought you **didn't** **like** Marinette. **Why** would you care that I rejected her?"

" **Meh** , more like I had a mix of a deep **denial** over my feelings, hating **any** kind of competition to my **expected** social status, dealing with **certain** revelations and to be perfectly honest I just **loved** the power rush that I would get at getting under her skin. That doesn't mean I'm **blind** unlike the rest of the city and a certain cat."

" **Wah**?"

"You might want to close your mouth their Adrien, it's not very seemly to see a man of your status gawking so pathetically at a woman. Even if that woman is **me** and completely gawk-able."

Trying to regain his inner balance at all that Chloe had unloaded on him, Adrien almost didn't notice the woman rushing towards him from the Agreste building.

"Excuse me sir, but Mr. Agreste has requested you as an emergency fill in for one of the shoots to be done in the evening. I need you to please go inside and to stay with me before you are prepared for the shoot. So please dismiss your lady friend from the premise."

Sighing at the thought of another photoshoot being done today, he started to stand when he was suddenly yanked down back into the bench.

"Excuse me, but who are you to butt into our conversation so rudely?"

"I-"

" **No**. You do not get to speak. Your message was delivered and you have nothing more to say. Adrien will go inside once it's time. He does not need to spend the next couple of hours being eye candy to a woman who is clearly at least ten years older and with little chances of being promoted due to your lack of impressive fashion style."

" **Excuse me** but-"

" **I** am **Chloe Bourgeois** , daughter of the **Mayor** and **owner** of a large chunk of **shares** to the Agreste company. Who do you think has the more power in this situation, hmm? You or me?"

Shifting away slightly from the ensuing fight occurring in front of him, Adrien watched in horrified awe as Chloe smugly smiled as the woman dejectedly walked back to the building.

"Hmph! The nerve of the woman to interrupt **me** for such a stupid request. It's **barely** ten in the morning, hardly time to have you go get ready for a shoot. Now where were we?"

Taking a deep breath, Adrien gave Chloe his best 'I'm disappointed in you' look.

"You didn't have to be so rude sending her away Chloe, she was just doing her job"

"Well I think it's cute how you think that look is going to make me feel guilty at all. I will never apologize for being who I am, and quite frankly that woman irritated me with her manner of talking. She is so **lucky** that I was in a really good mood too or **else** I would have had her running away in tears if I had been feeling any **less** generous so really, you should be **thanking** me for being so kind to her."

Shaking his head at her antics, he made himself more comfortable in the bench. Sometimes he didn't know why he even bothered trying to regulate Chloe's attitude. Ever since her confession, the only one who has managed to get Chloe to ever take back what she said or stop being so rude to others was Marinette. Smiling softly to the side, Adrien mused on the various meetings between Chloe and Marinette and how eventually by the end of their confrontations, Marinette would come out the winner.

"...You have a ridiculously sappy smile on your face. What on earth are you thinking about?"

"It's not sappy! I was just reminiscing on how back in middle school and high school it was always Marinette being the one to make you eat your words and force you to back down from something."

"...You are so lucky you are handsome, talented and that I know you have a very smart brain in your pretty head, cause this kind of level of oblivious should be considered a crime. You know just for being this much of love sick dork I have half the mind to try and steal your lady love from you."

"Hey what do you mean by oblivious?!" Watching her get up and start to make her way to the parking lot, Adrien quickly got up to follow her. "Steal who from me?!"

Opening her white car, Chloe slid into the seat and lowered the window, giving him a saucy smile at his flustered state.

"Don't worry Adrien, I won't poach on your territory just yet. But if you keep being this slow I'll be forced to make my move." Blowing him a kiss Chloe pulled out from the parking lot and out into the streets.

Sneaking a peek at his sleeping Kawmi, Adrien raked a hand through his hair in frustration.

"You know Plagg sometimes I really just don't get women."


	3. Chapter 3

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated"

\- Confucius

 **Note:** In case it was too subtle for anyone to catch, in the previous chapter Chloe hinted she knew the truth of Ladybugs identity. I also changed the photo for the story to a Fanmade/Fancast one I made myself :D

 **Note 2:** Also this is unbeta-ed so forgive me for any spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes

"talking"

 _'thoughts'_

 **[Texting]**

* * *

There was something magical about seeing a landscape enshrouded by the morning mist and highlighted by the brightening morning sky. Sipping his cup of dark coffee, Adrien smiled as he just took in the view from his balcony. The happy purrs of Plagg sleeping off his morning cheese, gave the whole setting a blissful feel.

A soft vibration broke the content atmosphere, and jolted Adrien back to the harsh reality that was early morning work. Taking out his phone, he noted that he had 3 text messages. Opening the first one, he noted it was from Nathalie.

 **[Adrien. Your Father has requested you join him for dinner tonight at Le Cinq. Your suit will be delivered to your abode by 5:45pm and your chauffeur will be picking you up from your apartment at 7pm. The dinner starts at 7:30pm and ends at 8:30pm. Your chauffeur will be driving you back to your apartment.]**

Letting loose a soft frustrated sigh, Adrien mentally made a note to cancel tonight's 'guy night' with Nino. So much for Harry Potter Marathon Night. Vincent, his photographer, had sent him the next text.

 **[Adrien! Great News! The new line up for England's men's clothing line will be arriving by next Monday! So start packing and get ready because we are off to London bright and early Monday morning! And just in case you haven't been told yet we also have a new up and coming intern designer for the Agreste Company and she is so cute I want to EAT HER UP! Her designs caught the Boss's eye and we will be featuring some of her work in this season's Agreste Line up! Prepare those bedroom eyes and that sultry face because the new theme of the Agreste line up this season is "Sweet and Spicy"! A female model will be picked for your couple shots in a new Agreste competition which will start in two weeks and you will be one of the judges. All your single shots will of course be done in the same week, so remember to arrive bright and early! I am thinking some early morning shots to make the whole image hotter!]**

So no classes for him for the next week and the week after that. Not to mention he still has to find a party date for this weekend's Company Anniversary. Adrien wondered if he would have to drop his university courses and do them all online instead. If he didn't know his father was too busy running a fashion empire, he would completely suspect he wanted to ruin his only son's chances at following his dreams and becoming a writer. Shaking off his darkening thoughts, a small smile graced his lips as Adrien noted that Chloe was the sender to the last text message.

 **[Good morning Adrien~! I figured you'd be a sad little boy by this time and decided to send you a picture to help you get through your day! Enjoy! With lots of love! xoxoxox Chloe~!]**

Clicking to download the photo, he wondered what Chloe could have sent him to cheer him up? Not even five seconds later a beet-red Adrien threw his phone on the bed, and tried to calm down his racing heart.

 _'WHAT THE HELL CHLOE!? HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET A PHOTO OF **THAT**?!'_

Mentally screaming he vaguely noted that Plagg had woken up and was now peering at the photo on his phone.

"Ooohhhhhhhh it's the sweets smelling girl!" Tilting his head a little to the left, a small smirk grew on his face.

"My, my, my, Adrien! I never knew how naughty you could be~! Having a photo of the girl in-"

Snatching the phone away and placing a palm over his partner's mouth, Adrien quickly ran into the kitchen and shoved a piece of cheese into Plaggs mouth and leaving a whole plateful by the startled Kwami. Hopefully that would keep him quiet for a while.

Closing and locking his bedroom door, Adrien ran his hand through his hair before sliding down the door. Taking out his phone, Adrien looked at the photo his so called friend had sent him. There in all her red and black lingerie clad glory was Marinette, posing what was obviously her own work in her room. This had to breaking god knows how many rules and laws between friends, let alone all the laws Chloe had broken getting her hands on this photo.

Closing the photo, Adrien tried to rationalize his body's sudden reaction to his 'just a friend'. Obviously he was reacting to the Ladybug themed lingerie, and picturing Ladybug instead. Not to mention he is a hormonal young man and Marinette is a very pretty young woman...NOT THAT HE WAS THINKING IMPURE THOUGHTS ABOUT HIS FRIEND OR ANYTHING!

Pressing his palm to his forehead and closing his eyes, Adrien just knew that somewhere in Paris, Chloe was in her pajamas and cackling into her morning coffee.

* * *

The smell of old paper and leather covers. The soft light through yellow tinted windows. The aroma of old wood and warn velvet chairs. A timeless setting tucked in a small bookstore. If anyone had asked Adrien why he had chosen his apartment on this particular street, he would honestly reply it was because it was on the same street as this old bookstore. Though Plagg would nag on how boring he could be, Adrien would shamelessly admit he would rather spend all day here among all these volumes of lore than go to photoshoots and have cold dinners with his father. Don't get him wrong, he loved hanging out with his friends in his time off, but sometimes he needed a bit of space. Even after all these years, he still felt overwhelmed sometimes by all the people around him.

Snuggling into his chair, Adrien glanced at his watch before mentally calculating that he had thirty more minutes of "me time" before having to go back home and get ready for tonight's dinner. Just as he was starting to lose himself in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" a soft bubbly voice caught his attention.

"Wow Alya! This place is amazing!"

 ** _'Marinette?!'_**

The photo from this morning flashed before his eyes, leaving Adrien with a burning red face and some slightly uncomfortable tighter pants.

 _ **'Get a grip** **Adrien!** This is your **friend**! Stop **thinking** about her like **that!'**_

"Yup. I found it exploring the area for some Ladybug sightings. I immediately thought of you and how much you would love working here whenever it gets too much at our flat."

"You're the best!"

Soft giggles filled the space, bringing a smile to Adrien's face. The friendship between those two could be so beautiful at times. He was glad they had each other.

"Well I'm off to pick up my siblings and take them to my parents' house. I'll be back in an hour to pick you up, ok?"

"Ok! Thanks Alya!

A heartbeat later and Adrien was left alone with Marinette none the wiser. Soft footsteps echoed through the room before slowly coming to a stop at the corner of the store. Craning his head, Adrien tried to remember what type of books where in that section of the book store. Was that the romance section? No that was closer to the door of the store. Maybe the history section? No, no that's closer to where he's sitting. Curiosity eating him, Adrien finally decided to get up and find out what she was looking at.

Creeping up behind her, Adrien noticed that she had gone to the arts and crafts idea books section. Of course. Obviously. Smiling softly at her back, Adrien unconsciously took a few steps closer to her and reached out towards her shoulder.

Being suddenly grabbed and pushed against the book stand with an arm being pressed against his neck, however, was not the reaction he was expecting. At all.

"All right **buddy,** what do you- **ADRIEN?!** "

"...H-hey Marinette. It's nice to see you."

Her body was a lot more firm then he thought it would be. And wow! She has some serious muscle in her arms!

Watching her eyes change from determined to bewildered and horrified a stray thought crossed his mind.

 _'Was Marinette always this fierce and strong?'_

"OH MY GOD! I AM **SO** SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

"No, don't apologize! It's my fault for startling you like that!"

"I-is that **blood** on your neck? Is that blood on your **neck**? IS THAT **BLOOD** ON **YOUR** **NECK?!"**

Gently touching the side of his neck, Adrien lightly winced at the unexpected sting and noted that his hand did have a little bit of blood on them. Glancing from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a sharp splinter of wood nearly hidden by the shadows in the area.

"Huh, looks like I accidentally cut myself."

A small distressed whimper came from a dangerously pale and even more horrified Marinette. Adrien watched in awe as his friend began to rant, rave and ramble as she flailed around the book shelves and just basically broke down under the potential consequences his little cut could invoke. It kind of felt like watching a car crash in slow motion followed by a giant self-combustion.

"OH MY GOD! **What have I done?!** I just **wounded** your neck! Now it's going to leave a **scar** which will **force** you to wear **turtle neck** designs to **hide it**! That means you **won't be able to model certain clothing** anymore! Which means you will have a **reduced in come of work** and become **poor** and be **kicked out** of your apartment for **failing to meet the ren** t! That **also** means your father will be **angry** that I **scarred** his **only son** which means he will **hate me**! And if that isn't bad enough, dear lord your **fans will be furious** and **hunt me down** and I will be **attacked** on the **streets** and **bared** from every entering the fashion industry and eventually be **deported** from the country for hurting **France's favourite model**! I'M **DOOMED**! YOU'RE **DOOMED**! WE'RE ALL **DOOMED!"**

Startled laughter burst from his lips. A strongly amused and bewildered noise that made his stomach ache and his eyes tear up. He knew it wasn't polite to laugh at her obvious distress but her leap of logic and general flailing about was just too funny for him to stop.

Finally calming down, Adrien turned to look at Marinette and ended up letting loose a couple more giggles. Her eyes were bug eyed and she had a look of horror on her face.

"Sorry, sorry! I know I shouldn't have laughed. But, I'm really sorry but, your reaction was just too funny!"

Walking closer, he gently place his hand on her shoulder and rubbed soothing circles into the area. As he massaged her, Adrien absently noted that she really did have a lot of muscles under her clothes. Kinda like a gymnast's body. A red and black spotted figure jumping over rooftops flashed before his eyes before he shook the memory away. He needed to focus on his embarrassed friend, not Ladybug.

"It's going to be OK Marinette. I won't suddenly lose my modeling job due to this tiny cut. All I have to do is disinfect it and slap on a band aid. If it's such a bother in my next couple of shoots, which I seriously doubt, then they can just edit it out like they do any imperfections they find on me. I won't get kicked out of my apartment and you won't be hated and hunted down by my father and fangirls."

Big teary sky blue eyes looked up at him with stark hope and naked relief. Adrien felt his heart suddenly skip a beat and his cheeks lightly flush.

 _'Why am I suddenly feeling like this?'_

" **Thanks** Adrien. I'm sorry I blew up at you like that. It's a bad habit I haven't been able to completely shake since I was a kid."

Mentally raising an eyebrow at that remark, Adrien tried to recall if she had ever done that around him in middle school or high-school. Nope.

"Really? I can't recall you ever acting like that around me..."

 _'Is this a side of her that she hid from me? Or was I so oblivious I missed it? Like her lov- **No**. **Not thinking about that**.'_

A sheepish giggle burst awkwardly from her lips as Marinette clearly started looking very embarrassed at the topic.

"Yeahhhhhhh, I uh, kind of typically only freaked out like this in front of Alya, to be honest."

Smiling wistfully at the red faced girl, Adrien couldn't stop the small pang of jealousy at the closeness between Alya and Marinette.

"Yeah?"

A serious look crossed her face as she gently stepped away from him and dislodged his hand from her shoulder.

"Yeah... **Yeah** you know what? It's really **stupid** to not tell you what I **freaked over** about from **my teenage years to now** considering...well... **everything** between us."

Serious determined blue eyes stared at slightly apprehensive yet curious green eyes.

"I freaked out over **you** Adrien."

An awkward pause filled the space before Marinette continued.

"You know about my **feelings for you** and how I've held a candle for you for **years**. So ...yeah. I used to freak out at Alya over you."

Watching her gently reach out to take the book she had been looking at on the shelf, Adrien wondered why he felt so off balance whenever she mentioned her feelings for him.

"And now that we are on this topic... I just want you to know that for the record, the reason why it took so long for us to become good friends was because my **feelings for you** would **overload** and **tie** my tongue **into knots**. I-I just couldn't talk to you without tripping up for the longest time."

His heartbeat echoed in his ears as he watched with slightly wide eyes at the small nostalgic smile Marinette was giving him. A wistful smile that spoke of regrets and fondness in equal measure. A strange discomforting feeling was tickling at the back of his head. He **knew** that **smile.** That **look.** That **body position** from somewhere. It was recent too. But where?

" **Heh**. Well, I guess it doesn't **matter** anymore does it? Anyway what brings you to this bookstore Adrien? If I recall correctly you have a huge library in your family mansion."

"H-huh?... **Oh**! I was just catching up on some reading some poetry. You know to just relax and have some 'me time' before I run back to get ready for a dinner appointment."

"Cool. I was looking for a craft book for how to make paper art designs. It's a present for a good friend of mine. He's an aspiring writer and I kind of was thinking of making him some to inspire his writing."

For some reason that strange discomforted feeling seemed to grow at the sight of Marinette look so lovingly at the thought of her 'good friend'...God, just what was wrong with him?!

"Writer huh? Is he taking any courses for that? Cause if he isn't I can recommend him a couple of books."

"Well actually-"

The sound of Jagged Stone's Rock and Roll guitar riffs interrupted her, as both of them glanced at Adrien's vibrating and musical pocket.

"Whoops! Sorry but I have to take this call."

Walking away towards where he was earlier seated, he answered his phone.

"Hello? Nathalie? What? The delivery for me suit is already at the apartment? But it's not even 5:45 yet!"

It would figure that his father would demand that the service arrive ten minutes earlier than scheduled. He just knew that this was all just to show off how even if Adrien lived in different building than him, **he** could still run his life on **his** schedule.

"...Fine. Thank you. I'll be right there. Goodbye."

Grabbing his things, Adrien turned to look at an understanding looking Marinette.

"Go. I know how your father hates things not happening on schedule. We can chat later ok?"

"Thanks Marinette. I'm so sorry for running off on you like this."

"Don't worry about it. Have a nice dinner appointment ok?"

"...I'll try. Thanks again."

Waving her off, he jogged out the front door and down the street to where a slightly annoyed delivery man was waiting for him.

* * *

"Adrien. You're late."

Glancing at his watch Adrien noted that he was only two minutes late and that was mostly because it took him two minutes to get from the car to the reserved table.

"Sorry Father, there was a traffic accident and -"

"I don't want to hear any excuses. Now sit down, we have much to talk about."

Sighing softly, Adrien sat down and began to browse through the menu. Good food went a long way with making these dinner dates more bearable.

"Don't bother with that. I already ordered for us."

 _'Of course he did.'_

Not a minute later and the waiter arrived with their appetizers.

"Now then, have you given thought about who to bring for the anniversary ball? I will **not** have your date be an embarrassment to the Agreste Company."

"Well-"

"And before I forget, Ms. Bourgeois has already said she will bring her own date to the ball so you will not be forced by that **spoiled** **child** to take her as your own partner."

"Father, she's really not **that** bad-"

"You should have put her in her place years ago. As if Ms. Bourgeois has what it takes to be your wife."

" **Wife?!** Father I'm **only** 24 years old, I-"

"When **I** was your age I was **already** **married** to your mother and **building** the Agreste Company Empire on **international soil**. Yet you are **what?** Not even done your University courses and have rejected **every** girl I deemed a suitable girlfriend?"

Adrien sighed softly as the waiter returned to take away the empty plates and to place the main course. They always came back to this topic. **Every** time they had a dinner his Father would say the same thing over and over again. He was getting tired of **falling short** to the goals and expectations a young 20s Gabriel Agreste achieved.

"I would have finished my courses earlier if I wasn't modeling so often and missing so much class! And those girls were nice enough but I didn't feel it was right to be with them when I clearly don't like them that way-"

"I think you mean 'because you refuse to even think about liking them that way', hm? Don't think I haven't noticed that you have been **pinning** over some **girl** for the last couple of years."

"Oh, you mean **you actually noticed** something regarding my feelings?"

"The **only reason** I can think of you not getting her as a girlfriend is probably because she would **not meet my standards?** That she's **mediocre**?"

 _ **'Oh hell no**. I can stand **a lot** from my father, but **bad mouthing the woman I love?!** **No way!'**_

"She is **not** mediocre! She's **amazing**! She's **funny** and **smart** and **inspiring** and **brave** and is **beautiful** when upset but **even more so** when she's truly happy! If you could see how she her **eyes light up** when she's got a plan or has figured out how -"

Gabriel Agreste lips twitched into what looked like a smile, startling Adrien enough to actually stop his rant in shock.

"Father...?"

"Well Adrien, if she's **that amazing** then why **haven** 't you dated her yet?"

"Uhhhh, well, t-that is...ummmm."

Cutting a piece of black salmon he quickly shoved it into his mouth as a burning blush crossed his face. Maybe he had said too much?

His father actually looked slightly amused at his antics, crossing his hands in front of his mouth and shifting forward to give his son a piercing look.

"Really, I just don't understand how **a son of mine** could be so insecure when it comes to asking a girl out. Here's a piece of advice Adrien. If you truly think this girl can surpass my expectations and standards, and is single, then you should stop dithering and either woo the girl to your side or forget her completely."

* * *

It was the day after the dinner with his father and Adrien still couldn't really wrap his head around the whole thing. It started and ended with his father being the whole 'typical controlling, your wishes and desires don't matter to me' self but that part in the middle...

Shaking his head, he continued his stroll around the park near the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful day and he only had so much free time before once again, he would pulled away for work. Jogging up to the sidewalk, Adrien glanced around the street for a cheese shop, Plagg deserved a reward for being pretty good today, when suddenly he froze in shock.

Walking into a coffee shop together were Chloe and Marinette, smiling and laughing at each other. Flabbergasted at the sight, Adrien vaguely noted that Chloe caught his eye and winked saucily at him.

A vibration from his pocket quickly distracted him. Pulling out his cellphone he noted that the message was from Chloe.

 **[I told you that if you didn't make your move I would make my own. xoxoxox Chloe~!]**


End file.
